Undecideds
"Previously on the West Wing" spoken by C.J. Santos must face the challenge of visiting an African-American family in Los Angeles whose child was shot by a Latino police officer. C.J. must manage a crisis between China and Kazakhstan. Summary Lou tells Santos that his people find him more favorable post debate than before it and that the Vinick Santos debate from the previous episode has been declared a tie. Donna then comes in with a new report that says a 12 year old Black kid was killed by police. Santos asks for the officer's name--it is a Hispanic name. Santos says this is what he is afraid of, and Lou scrambles to inform Josh, Leo, etc. Josh is getting all the details on the 12 year old boy shooting. He had a toy gun and the police shot him. Josh and campaign staffer Lester talk about the ramifications of Santos going to a Black church in the city where the shooting took place to rally in the upcoming days and whether they should go to the mother's house. At the White House on a Saturday, CJ is into all things Elie Bartlett wedding. She has sat down with Elie when Kate Harper summons her. There is a situation with Kazakhstan, China and Russia. The Kazakhstani head just booted a Chinese delegation out of its country; they were in the process of making an oil pipeline deal. CJ asks Will Bailey to go into the Elie Bartlet wedding planning situation in her place and discuss wedding music, and Will has his hands full. Josh and Toby get into a monumental argument when Josh goes to check on Toby. Toby is indicted and says he is going to jail, no deal. He also says he thinks Josh's candidate can't win. Josh calls Toby a bastard, but then comes back and they fight again in another round. Toby asks Josh if he has no doubt that Santos is the man for President. Josh looks him in the eyes and says nothing Cast Starring *Allison Janney as C.J. Cregg *Joshua Malina as Will Bailey *Mary McCormack as Kate Harper *Janel Moloney as Donna Moss *Richard Schiff as Toby Ziegler *John Spencer as Leo McGarry *Bradley Whitford as Josh Lyman *with Jimmy Smits as Matthew Santos Special Guest Stars *Janeane Garofalo as Louise Thornton *Teri Polo as Helen Santos Guest Starring *Nina Siemaszko as Ellie Bartlet *Ben Weber as Vic Faison *Cress Williams as Lester *Ron Canada as Ted Barrow *NiCole Robinson as Margaret Hooper *Matthew Del Negro as Bram Howard *Karis Campbell as Ronna Beckman *Diana-Maria Riva as Edie Ortega *Shelley Robertson as Brenda Burke *Lou Beatty, Jr. as Wilson Burke Co-Starring *John Littlefield as Agent *Duane Shepard, Sr. as Pastor Trivia The only regulars credited in this episode are Alan Alda, Kristin Chenoweth, Allison Janney, Joshua Malina, Mary McCormack, Janel Moloney, John Spencer, Bradley Whitford, and Jimmy Smits. Martin Sheen and Alan Alda both appear only in the "Previously on the West Wing" montage before the teaser. In real life it is highly unlikely that China and Russia would fight a war for Kazakhstan's oil. The Russian Federation is the third largest exporter of oil in the world, after Venezuela and Saudi Arabia. Goofs Quotes Matt Santos: "Good morning. My prayers are with Ronnie Burke's family today. I know yours are too. My prayers are with Officer Rafael Martinez and his family. They are not struggling with the loss of a child, but they are struggling with a terrible truth. My prayers are with those families and with this one. :"You know, I find myself on days like this casting about for someone to blame. I blame the kid, he stole a car. I blame the parents. Why couldn't they teach him better? I blame the cop. Did he need to fire? I blame every one I can think of and I am filled with rage. And then I try and find compassion. Compassion for the people I blame. Compassion for the people I do not understand, compassion. It doesn't always work so well. I remember as a young man listening on the radio to Dr. King in 1968. He asked of us compassion, and we responded, not necessarily because we felt it but because he convinced us that if we could find compassion, if we could express compassion, that if we could just pretend compassion, it would heal us so much more than vengeance could. And he was right: it did, but not enough. What we've learned this week is that more compassion is required of us and an even greater effort is required of us. And we are all, I think everyone of us, tired. :"We're tired of understanding, we're tired of waiting, we're tired of trying to figure out why our children are not safe and why our efforts to to make them safe seem to fail. We're tired. But we must know that we have made some progress and blame will only destroy it. Blame will breed more violence and we have had enough of that. :"Blame will not rid our streets of crime and drugs and fear and we have had enough of that. Blame will not strengthen our schools or our families or our workforce. Blame will rob us of those things and we have had enough of that. And so I ask you today to dig down deep with me and find that compassion in your hearts. Because it will keep us on the road. And we will walk together and work together. And slowly, slowly, too slowly, things will get better. God bless you. God bless you, and God bless your children." References "The West Wing" Undecideds (2005) Category:Episodes Category:Season 7